


Ouroboros

by Itwasnevermeanttobe



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Dream manipulates everyone, Emotional Manipulation, Flirting, Fluff, Heartbreak, M/M, Major character death 😃, Minecraft, Minecraft but in real life, Pining, The Fall of L’manberg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29671533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itwasnevermeanttobe/pseuds/Itwasnevermeanttobe
Summary: “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dream let out, looking over at him with shaded lenses.George grinned, a strike of courage impelling him to reply, “By “it” do you mean you?”Dream’s eyebrows raised in surprise, laughing at his friend’s response.“Actually... I was referring to you... although I guess I’m beautiful too.” he slyly replied. George’s cheeks tinted pink and his eyes drifted under Dream’s gaze.—George wished he could have bottled up memories like these and stored them away to relive again and again. He wished he could go back to times when their words held no malice or ill will, when the most pressing matter was their schedule for the next week and the new biomes to discover. When it was just the two of them... forever and always.But all good things came to an end, as did George’s fragile heart in the coming years.
Relationships: Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) - Relationship, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF) - Relationship
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my first time writing a dnf fic and it will definitely take me a while since I want to follow the plot up to present day. I hope you like it and please give me feedback, I’d love to improve it in whatever way I can!

George’s legs hung over the roof of the newly built community house, swinging back and forth under the warm heat of the sun as it set in the distance. He clapped his hands together, wiping off the dirt from a laborious day of building onto his dirty blue jeans. Dream and Sapnap’s laughs sounded below him, the mouth watering smell of a well deserved dinner rising through the entrance to the roof. The sound of a pan falling to the floor elicited another round of laughs and a swear from Sapnap.

On nights like these, George would sit here for what seemed like hours, listening to the crickets and frogs call out to potential lovers as the rest of the world slumbered. He found it the hardest to sleep at night. His thoughts always swarmed in his head, forming new possibilities and new fears he didn’t know he had. His friends would scold him for sleeping at the most inconvenient of times, but George’s anxiety-driven insomnia never wavered.

He turned his head slightly to hear the soft footsteps behind him, the figure slowly sitting down beside him.

“Dinner’s ready.” A familiar voice announced, smiling under their mask. Dream’s chestnut hair ruffled under the wind’s touch, the rays of light grazing his freckled cheeks.

“I know.” George replied, moving his hands behind his head as he laid down under the changing sky.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, until Dream plucked the white sunglasses off of George’s head, lifting his mask to settle them over his green eyes. George gave him an amused look, taking in the view Dream offered so rarely.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dream let out, looking over at him with shaded lenses.

George grinned, a strike of courage impelling him to reply, “By “it” do you mean you?”

Dream’s eyebrows raised in surprise, laughing at his friend’s response.

“Actually... I was referring to you... although I guess I’m beautiful too.” he slyly replied. George’s cheeks tinted pink and his eyes drifted under Dream’s gaze.

“Dream?” George asked.

“George?”

“Do you ever wonder what got us here? Why we spawned here?”

Dream hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe we were meant to be here, together. Maybe the universe has something planned for us.”

George laughed. “I didn’t take you to be religious.”

“Well, it’s not exactly being religious. Just being hopeful.”

“Don’t you ever…” George trailed off. Dream looked over at him curiously, eyebrows raised.

“Don’t I ever what?”

George smoothed his thumb over the hilt of his sword. “Well, I mean… none of us remember how we got here or what even happened before we got here. Don’t you find that strange?”

Dream smiled, placing his gloved hand on George’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry, George. We’re here now, right? Let’s make the most of it. And besides, at least we have each other.”

George sighed. “I guess so.”

George laid back down, hands folded on his stomach. “Those stars right there, they look like an infinity symbol.” He observed, pointing towards a small cluster of stars.

Dream laid down beside him and his eyes followed to the area. “Is that a constellation or something?”

“No, I just think it looks like one. My mum used to tell me about this Greek symbol called an Ouroboros of a snake eating its tail that used to symbolize infinity, like a beginning and an end all in one.”

“Won’t the snake die at some point, though?” Dream asked.

George laughed. “Well, I suppose so, but it’ll still be eating its tail.”

“Not if it’s dead it won’t.”

The older boy shoved at him, laughing. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Can you lovebirds wrap it up before dinner gets cold? I’m not reheating it if you guys complain.” Sapnap’s fluffy black hair peaked over the edge of the stairs leading up to the roof, his eyebrows cocked and his lips forming into a know-it-all smirk.

Dream laughed, motioning for George to follow him downstairs, their conversation done for the time being.

Soon enough, the smell of cooked steak and their rumbling stomachs washed away any worries and their conversations drifted into their plans for the next day and what more they would accomplish.

George wished he could have bottled up memories like these and stored them away to relive again and again. He wished he could go back to times when their words held no malice or ill will, when the most pressing matter was their schedule for the next week and the new biomes to discover. When it was just the two of them... forever and always.

But all good things came to an end, as did George’s fragile heart in the coming years.


	2. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George finds himself in an unfamiliar area with a familiar person, with an ever confusing lack of memory to how he got there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is my first time writing a dnf fic and it will definitely take me a while since I want to follow the plot up to present day. I hope you like it and please give me feedback, I’d love to improve it in whatever way I can!

George groggily awoke to a bird cawing in his ear, his head pounding incessantly. He pushed himself up with the palms of his hands, resting his back against a nearby spruce tree. The bird quickly flew away, feathers from its wings falling on the ground. He tugged his glasses off the collar of his blue shirt, fiddling with the temples. Where the hell was he? He seemed to be in a spruce forest of some sort, but nothing about this place was familiar. Not only that, he had no idea how he even got here, let alone what he was even doing before this.

The sound of a nearby white sheep jolted him from his thoughts.

“Oh. You finally woke up.”

Dream patted the sheep awkwardly, a pile of wood in his hands. A white smile mask covered his face, a tuft of light brown hair peeking out of the hood. His yellow hoodie sleeves slowly unrolled themselves from his elbows.

“Dream? What are we doing here? I don’t remember coming here.” George let out.

“I don’t know either, but you’ve been asleep for a while so I’ve been collecting wood so we’re not completely helpless when night falls.”

“Mm… that’s probably a good idea. I’ll go get some too.”

For some reason, even though George didn’t remember how or why he ended up here, he did vividly remember Dream, like he was always meant to know him.

When George returned to spawn with a pile of wood and a crafting table in his lanky arms, the sheep from before was laying on the ground, its wool sheared and its meat gone, blood staining the ground.

“Dream! Did you just kill that sheep?”

Dream laughed from behind him. “We need food. I don’t want to starve.” He then looked to the pile of wood in George’s arms. “Oh, good! You got wood. We should work on getting iron next.”

George nodded, glancing over at the large lava pool in the distance. He rubbed his temples, trying to concentrate on the memories before he woke up here. All that he got in return was a splitting headache, so he decided to worry about it later. “We could go to the nether.” he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. 

The taller boy hummed underneath his mask. “Yeah, I guess we could. Better than sitting around here.”

Once George got enough iron to make a bucket, he swiftly placed the water and lava, forming a dark obsidian portal. Dream lit it with his flint and steel and the two hopped in, curious to see what lay beyond the barrier.

After a dark blue haze swam in his vision, swirling the colors around him, the two teleported to the hellish dimension, the crackling of lava and fire filling the creepy silence.

“George! Watch out.” 

The portal had spawned high above a giant lava pit, the obsidian floating in mid air. The nearest land was about 50 blocks away, and zombified piglins endlessly roamed the brown netherrack, golden swords in hand. George marveled at the sight.

Dream nimbly placed the blocks underneath him, forming a diagonal cobblestone path over to the plot of land. George mindlessly watched, shivering uncomfortably in the smoldering heat. In the distance, grey ash fell over the stalagmite-like basalt, giant slimy magma cubes hopping from each branch of it. The cry of a ghast sounded afar in the hazy red fog.

“George. You coming?” Dream asked, snapping the brunette out of his thoughts.

“Yes.”

George carefully walked on the path, hopping up onto the netherrack. “Dream, look! There’s gold!” the shorter boy exclaimed, running over to inspect the gold and mine it with his pickaxe.

“Gold? That’s cool. I didn’t know there was gold in the nether.” Dream replied, making his way over to the boy.

His pickaxe thudded into the gold ore, breaking the block into small gold nuggets. “Look! Gold nuggets!” George held up the small gold piece in the palm of his hand.

Dream took the piece from his hand, their fingertips brushing slightly. George nervously retracted his hand, a blush visible in the illumination of the shroomlights above. 

“Give me my gold back!” George demanded.

“And what if I don’t?” Dream smirked, his eyebrows arching.

“I’ll beat you up.”

Dream laughed. “No you won’t. I’m stronger than you.”

“No, I won’t, but I’m going to be mad, so just give it back.” 

“Okay, okay, fine.” Dream handed the gold piece back, taking out his pickaxe to mine a block further away.

Once they had gotten enough gold to make armor, George walked back over to his friend with a pile of ingots in his hands. 

“Dream, I request that you hand over that gold as taxes.” George smiled, offering out his pile for Dream to stack it on.

Dream chuckled. “What, the government’s coming to collect?” he asked, wiping away a bead of sweat off his forehead.

“Yes give it to me. Give it to me.”

Dream piled the rest of his onto George’s growing pile and George put them into the crafting table, making two shiny, golden chest plates for the both of them.

After a while of traveling and bridging, the two made their way to the musty basalt biome, coughing at the ash-filled air.

George stopped in his tracks for a moment. “Look how bright it is here. It’s beautiful.” 

Dream smiled gently and hummed in response. Seeing George happy always brought a smile to his face.

The pair then made their way to a bastion on the horizon, amazed at the towering blackstone brick walls and terrifying piglike squeals sounding from inside.

“This looks so cool.” George remarked, running his fingers over the cool black bricks.

“I think there’s gold blocks inside, we should see if we can get any.” Dream hesitantly walked inside, his shoes echoing in the tight hallways.

George slowly followed in pursuit, watching his surroundings carefully and holding up his shield for protection.

At the very bottom middle of the bastion stood a small platform with a few chests. Dream block clutched down, hopping onto the platform, careful not to fall into the lava pit encasing the small island. George fell in behind him and the two opened up the chests in the middle. 

Before Dream could pull out the diamond leggings hidden in the fortuitous chest, a squeal reverberated behind him. His heart lurched in his throat and he quickly scrambled to get away. He narrowly missed the block he was aiming to fall on, drowning in lava instead, his vision filling with red and his body going numb. George soon followed, a golden piglin blade protruding from his back and his vision fading. 

“God damn it!” George cursed, finding himself at spawn again empty handed. “Did we just die?! How are we still alive?”

Dream observed the small burn marks trailing down his arms. Similarly, George had a small blood stain from where the piglin stabbed him. “We’re alive, but we’re hurt.”

“We wouldn’t have just lost all our stuff if you didn’t just run into lava!”

Dream narrowed his green eyes. “I didn’t _run_ into lava. I was running away from a piglin.”

George groaned. “Whatever, it’s fine.” 

Out of nowhere, the two clenched their teeth at a sudden pain coming from the wrist of their dominant hand.

Tattooed on Dream and George’s wrists were these words: _“When a war stains your bloody streets, your lives will be reduced to three.”_

The two looked up at each other, eyebrows raised. 

“What does that mean?” George asked.

“I have no idea, but we’re not in a war right now, so we should be fine?”

George bit his lip anxiously. “I guess so, but if these words are coming from someone else…” je trailed off. Was someone _watching_ them? Someone was deciding their life count. Someone _had_ that power. Who, or what was it?

The brunette’s stomach twisted. He didn’t want to think about this now, or anything now. So, as he did best, he changed the subject.

“Wanna try out that bastion again? We could get revenge.”

Within the next couple of days, Dream and George died many more times to various mobs attempting to gather up the lost gear, including the reckless jump of George into the bastion earning a lightheaded wheeze from Dream. 

It was easy to say that they were far from being done with their time here. And this… well this was just the beginning. The beginning of something great… and something terrible. Life on the smp was about to get a _lot_ more difficult.


	3. New Arrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To George’s dismay, his company is now shared with more than just Dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is my first time writing a dnf fic and it will definitely take me a while since I want to follow the plot up to present day. I hope you like it and please give me feedback, I’d love to improve it in whatever way I can!

George proudly smiled at his new achievement, the goat fish flopping in the bucket in his hand.

“Dream, I’m going to call our new fish Beckerson.”

Dream laughed, raising his eyebrows. “You should name it ‘I love you’ and then give it to me.”

That earned a shove from George and the two laughed.

“No, I’m not doing that.” 

“I’ll just pretend you did.”

“You wish I did.”

Dream laughed and George turned his attention to the new animal pens Dream had built. George had just finished luring two sheep into one and breeding them with wheat.

“Dream, these two pens should be one big pen. The sheep are going to be so crowded. They need more space.”

“No they don’t. They don’t have rights.”

A light laugh escaped George’s throat. “You’re so rude to the sheep. They deserve better.”

“Well, they’re going to be in my tummy soon anyways.”

“Dream!”

Amidst their usual banter, a familiar figure approached their base. The sound of footsteps caused the two to turn towards the sound.

“Callahan?”

Callahan rubbed his brown eyes with the back of his hand and adjusted his reindeer hood over his head. The twenty four year old smiled at them, waving and walking over.

“Did you just show up at spawn?” Dream asked, hoping for a nod or a shake of the head. Callahan was selectively mute, so he didn’t want to force him to talk.

Callahan nodded. They eventually geared him up with food and a bit of iron and he smiled as a “thank you”.

A few minutes later, another figure found themselves at their base, looking confused as ever.

“Sapnap?” 

The black haired boy rubbed his eyes, adjusting the white bandanna on his head. “Where are we?”

—

After a long conversation, the three figured out they were in the same boat. An unfamiliar place with no recollection of what had gotten them there, but a strong memory of each other. So far, only Dream and George had the foreboding words written on their skin, but they were the only two who had died so far.

As the day progressed, the construction of their house continued. They lined up bricks and glass, Dream complaining about the amount of clay needed to finish the job. 

Callahan and Sapnap shoved at each other in the pond next to the house as the sun set, the crackling of clay smelting in the furnaces.

George shook his head at the two. “See, this is why it’s just better with just Dream and I. You two just cause these shenanigans.”

Dream passed by with his shovel, new bits of freshly dug clay in his hand. “Yeah, like you don’t cause trouble all the time.”

“Oooooooh! George just got exposed.” Sapnap laughed, sitting himself on the edge of the wood path and wringing out his wet hair.

As night came around, the four huddled around the wood platform, George setting out to make more beds for them to sleep on.

“Callahan doesn’t need a bed,” Sapnap let out, “He can just sleep on the floor.”

Callahan shook his head, narrowing his eyes at the dark haired boy.

“Come on now, don’t be mean, Sapnap.” Dream uttered, nudging Sapnap in the shoulder.

George placed the final bed next to the other three and the four all laid down, trying to get a good night’s sleep in their work in progress of a home.

Like usual, George found himself sitting out nearby late at night, his mind swirling in thoughts. He glanced over at the three sound asleep, his iron armor clinking gently as he moved. Even Beckerson was asleep in his little fish pool in the farm.

A bright firefly landed in his hands, fluttering its wings in the dark of the night. George sighed, eyeing his wrist once again. He did, he  _ tried _ to think positively like Dream, but he couldn’t help but worry. There was so much that they didn’t know. How could they go on acting like everything was fine?

Soon enough, he too found himself sleepy from thinking too much and managed to fall asleep in his bed, which proved difficult due to Sapnap’s loud snoring.

—

Dream and Callahan were the first to awake, the sun rising in the sky with a promise of a new day. Breakfast cooked in the smoker, the smell of cooked fish rising in the air.

The other two woke up shortly after, preparing themselves for another day of work.

As Dream started off placing more bricks around the perimeter of the house, George giggled to himself. “What are you doing, Clay?”

Dream’s eyebrows raised in surprise, heat rising to his cheeks. He fumbled with the brick blocks in hand, almost dropping them out of embarrassment.  _ Clay  _ was his first name, a name people used rarely, and here George was, using it like a normal term.

“What did you just call me?” 

George laughed. “I just asked what you were doing.”

Dream lightly shoved him. “I’m building, you idiot.”

George shoved him back, starting a shoving war. Sapnap coyly eyed them from the other side of the house, sharing a knowing look with Callahan.

“Should I just start calling you Clay from now on?” George asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like it.” Dream replied, looking away as he placed more blocks down.

“You don’t like it?”

“No.”

“Alright. I guess I won’t do it then.”

—

As the day came to a close, the group finished up the house, adding a second pool and even making the farm bigger, giving more swim room for Beckerson. 

Amidst the sounds of the coming night, two new people arrived at the door to the community house: Alyssa and Sam. A knock at the door alerted the ever growing group of the smp.

Alyssa shivered in her thin sweater and shorts, hair tied up in red bows and a black mask covering the lower half of her face. Sam awkwardly stood next to her, hands shoved into his pockets, occasionally adjusting the creeper mask on his face.

“Let us in!” Alyssa let out, and Sam added a “Please?”

The two were welcomed inside, blankets wrapped around them as they shared the same experience of arriving at spawn as the rest. Items were dispensed evenly among the six, making it very clear that they were in dire need of more materials.

Over the next week, the group worked hard gathering materials and expanding the area around the main house. This included making a giant tank for Beckerson in the second story of the house.

While having more people around definitely made things more interesting, George grew tired of always having to provide for more than just him and Dream. There were always more mouths to feed, always more armor to make and the chatter in the house never ceased. He just wanted to upgrade his  _ own  _ armor and his  _ own  _ gear and not have to worry about providing for anyone else.

One morning, he found himself at the edge of the farm, yawning and rubbing at the dark circles under his eyes. 

“George?” 

The brown haired boy turned around to face his best friend, Dream. “Yes, Dream?”

Dream smiled, his mask hanging around his neck. “Are you okay?”

George smiled, locking eyes with his best friend. “Yeah… just tired.”

Dream sat himself down next to him, eyebrows creased with worry. “You wanna take a nap? You can lay your head in my lap.”

George looked around nervously, emitting a laugh from Dream.

“Don’t worry, they’re all busy right now. They won’t see us.”

George hesitantly laid his head down in Dream’s lap, staring up into Dream’s yellow eyes. His pointer finger trailed the freckles along Dream’s cheeks, finally resting against his pink lips.

Dream smirked, pressing a chaste kiss to George’s forehead, now red from embarrassment.

As the sun glared down at the two, Dream ran his slender fingers through George’s hair while George hid his smile in Dream’s sweatshirt.

“Dream?” George let out after a few minutes.

“Yes, George?”

“You should take your mask off more often.”

Now it was Dream’s turn to blush.

“Mmmm maybe, but only for you.”

George smiled, reciting the words over and over in his head.  _ Only for you. Only for you. _

“Promise?” He asked, holding out his pinky. Somehow he knew he was promising more than what was on the surface.

“Promise.” 


	4. New Arrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To George’s dismay, his company is now shared with more than just Dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is my first time writing a dnf fic and it will definitely take me a while since I want to follow the plot up to present day. I hope you like it and please give me feedback, I’d love to improve it in whatever way I can!

George proudly smiled at his new achievement, the goat fish flopping in the bucket in his hand.

“Dream, I’m going to call our new fish Beckerson.”

Dream laughed, raising his eyebrows. “You should name it ‘I love you’ and then give it to me.”

That earned a shove from George and the two laughed.

“No, I’m not doing that.” 

“I’ll just pretend you did.”

“You wish I did.”

Dream laughed and George turned his attention to the new animal pens Dream had built. George had just finished luring two sheep into one and breeding them with wheat.

“Dream, these two pens should be one big pen. The sheep are going to be so crowded. They need more space.”

“No they don’t. They don’t have rights.”

A light laugh escaped George’s throat. “You’re so rude to the sheep. They deserve better.”

“Well, they’re going to be in my tummy soon anyways.”

“Dream!”

Amidst their usual banter, a familiar figure approached their base. The sound of footsteps caused the two to turn towards the sound.

“Callahan?”

Callahan rubbed his brown eyes with the back of his hand and adjusted his reindeer hood over his head. The twenty four year old smiled at them, waving and walking over.

“Did you just show up at spawn?” Dream asked, hoping for a nod or a shake of the head. Callahan was selectively mute, so he didn’t want to force him to talk.

Callahan nodded. They eventually geared him up with food and a bit of iron and he smiled as a “thank you”.

A few minutes later, another figure found themselves at their base, looking confused as ever.

“Sapnap?” 

The black haired boy rubbed his eyes, adjusting the white bandanna on his head. “Where are we?”

—

After a long conversation, the three figured out they were in the same boat. An unfamiliar place with no recollection of what had gotten them there, but a strong memory of each other. So far, only Dream and George had the foreboding words written on their skin, but they were the only two who had died so far.

As the day progressed, the construction of their house continued. They lined up bricks and glass, Dream complaining about the amount of clay needed to finish the job. 

Callahan and Sapnap shoved at each other in the pond next to the house as the sun set, the crackling of clay smelting in the furnaces.

George shook his head at the two. “See, this is why it’s just better with just Dream and I. You two just cause these shenanigans.”

Dream passed by with his shovel, new bits of freshly dug clay in his hand. “Yeah, like you don’t cause trouble all the time.”

“Oooooooh! George just got exposed.” Sapnap laughed, sitting himself on the edge of the wood path and wringing out his wet hair.

As night came around, the four huddled around the wood platform, George setting out to make more beds for them to sleep on.

“Callahan doesn’t need a bed,” Sapnap let out, “He can just sleep on the floor.”

Callahan shook his head, narrowing his eyes at the dark haired boy.

“Come on now, don’t be mean, Sapnap.” Dream uttered, nudging Sapnap in the shoulder.

George placed the final bed next to the other three and the four all laid down, trying to get a good night’s sleep in their work in progress of a home.

Like usual, George found himself sitting out nearby late at night, his mind swirling in thoughts. He glanced over at the three sound asleep, his iron armor clinking gently as he moved. Even Beckerson was asleep in his little fish pool in the farm.

A bright firefly landed in his hands, fluttering its wings in the dark of the night. George sighed, eyeing his wrist once again. He did, he tried to think positively like Dream, but he couldn’t help but worry. There was so much that they didn’t know. How could they go on acting like everything was fine?

Soon enough, he too found himself sleepy from thinking too much and managed to fall asleep in his bed, which proved difficult due to Sapnap’s loud snoring.

—-

Dream and Callahan were the first to awake, the sun rising in the sky with a promise of a new day. Breakfast cooked in the smoker, the smell of cooked fish rising in the air.

The other two woke up shortly after, preparing themselves for another day of work.

As Dream started off placing more bricks around the perimeter of the house, George giggled to himself. “What are you doing, Clay?”

Dream’s eyebrows raised in surprise, heat rising to his cheeks. He fumbled with the brick blocks in hand, almost dropping them out of embarrassment. Clay was his first name, a name people used rarely, and here George was, using it like a normal term.

“What did you just call me?” 

George laughed. “I just asked what you were doing.”

Dream lightly shoved him. “I’m building, you idiot.”

George shoved him back, starting a shoving war. Sapnap coyly eyed them from the other side of the house, sharing a knowing look with Callahan.

“Should I just start calling you Clay from now on?” George asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like it.” Dream replied, looking away as he placed more blocks down.

“You don’t like it?”

“No.”

“Alright. I guess I won’t do it then.”

—

As the day came to a close, the group finished up the house, adding a second pool and even making the farm bigger, giving more swim room for Beckerson. 

Amidst the sounds of the coming night, two new people arrived at the door to the community house: Alyssa and Sam. A knock at the door alerted the ever growing group of the smp.

Alyssa shivered in her thin sweater and shorts, hair tied up in red bows and a black mask covering the lower half of her face. Sam awkwardly stood next to her, hands shoved into his pockets, occasionally adjusting the creeper mask on his face.

“Let us in!” Alyssa let out, and Sam added a “Please?”

The two were welcomed inside, blankets wrapped around them as they shared the same experience of arriving at spawn as the rest. Items were dispensed evenly among the six, making it very clear that they were in dire need of more materials.

Over the next week, the group worked hard gathering materials and expanding the area around the main house. This included making a giant tank for Beckerson in the second story of the house.

While having more people around definitely made things more interesting, George grew tired of always having to provide for more than just him and Dream. There were always more mouths to feed, always more armor to make and the chatter in the house never ceased. He just wanted to upgrade his own armor and his own gear and not have to worry about providing for anyone else.

One morning, he found himself at the edge of the farm, yawning and rubbing at the dark circles under his eyes. 

“George?” 

The brown haired boy turned around to face his best friend, Dream. “Yes, Dream?”

Dream smiled, his mask hanging around his neck. “Are you okay?”

George smiled, locking eyes with his best friend. “Yeah… just tired.”

Dream sat himself down next to him, eyebrows creased with worry. “You wanna take a nap? You can lay your head in my lap.”

George looked around nervously, emitting a laugh from Dream.

“Don’t worry, they’re all busy right now. They won’t see us.”

George hesitantly laid his head down in Dream’s lap, staring up into Dream’s yellow eyes. His pointer finger trailed the freckles along Dream’s cheeks, finally resting against his pink lips.

Dream smirked, pressing a chaste kiss to George’s forehead, now red from embarrassment.

As the sun glared down at the two, Dream ran his slender fingers through George’s hair while George hid his smile in Dream’s sweatshirt.

“Dream?” George let out after a few minutes.

“Yes, George?”

“You should take your mask off more often.”

Now it was Dream’s turn to blush.

“Mmmm maybe, but only for you.”

George smiled, reciting the words over and over in his head. Only for you. Only for you.

“Promise?” He asked, holding out his pinky. Somehow he knew he was promising more than what was on the surface.

“Promise.”


	5. The Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George reaches his breaking point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is my first time writing a dnf fic and it will definitely take me a while since I want to follow the plot up to present day. I hope you like it and please give me feedback, I’d love to improve it in whatever way I can!

“Sapnap, what is that?” George asked, eyeing the lead attached to something behind his back.

“It’s a fox! Look, this is Skechers. He has a little egg in his mouth. Say hello, Skechers!” Sapnap patted the fox’s head and grinned back at George excitedly. “He is my pet and if anyone hurts him, I will take my revenge.”

George smiled. “I guess he’s kinda cute.”

“Kinda?! He IS cute.”

Dream laughed from behind George as he read the name on the fox’s collar. “Sapnap, you spelled his name wrong. Isn’t there supposed to be a T?”

“No, there’s no T in Skechers. You’re an idiot.” Sapnap replied, walking his fox over to his bed in the corner of the room. “Now leave Skechers and I alone, he’s tired and wants a nap.”

“How do you know he wants a nap? What if he hates you?” George asked, laughing. Dream laughed along.

“Shut up! Leave.”

George held his hands up and giggled. “Okay, okay, fine, I’ll leave.”

A few hours later, George came back to find Sapnap and his new pet fast asleep, all cuddled up in the blankets.

—

After a few weeks, the house was full of animals: foxes, dogs, fish and a horse.

Even outside the house, a new pen titled “Kanye’s free range egg farm” with many chickens had been built by Ponk, a new member of the smp. He was known by what appeared to be a colorful race car helmet on his head and a white lab coat.

With the many new arrivals came many new builds, such as a newly built Nether base, a tree farm, a pet sanctuary, a courthouse and the new existence of private property. 

Among the many new builds came another new arrival, the arrival of Badboyhalo, or Bbh/Bad for short. Bad wore a black and red devil hoodie and pants and his eyes were hollow, but despite his scary appearance, his personality was quite the opposite. Bad was one of the most wholesome people George had ever met. He never swore and always looked at the bright side of things. This equally annoyed and reassured George. 

They had only been living here for about a month or so and everyone was already getting on his nerves, Ponk especially. Lately, Ponk had found a hobby of making the most useless tools and leaving them everywhere to inconvenience him in any way possible. His favorite was the wooden shovel. Not only that, but he would make ugly towers everywhere with dirt or wood.

What annoyed him even more was how quickly Dream picked up on his bad mood.

“George, what’s wrong?” Dream found himself asking again after George’s silence.

“Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

“George.”

“Okay, fine. Ponk’s being annoying and so is everyone else. I’m so fed up with everything. We have no idea how we even got here and everyone is just pretending like everything is fine, when it’s not. I want an answer, Dream.”

Dream found himself speechless. “George… you know I don’t have one.”

A hot tear ran down George’s face. “Of course you don’t, no one does.” He swiftly threw stuff into his backpack, slamming the front door behind him.

“George!” Dream yelled out, throwing the door open. “You’re being selfish! Don’t you think we’re worried too? Not everything is about you, but it always has to be. You always have to get everything you want. I’m not your parent. You can take care of yourself. Can’t we just live in the moment and appreciate the fact that we’ve made it this far?” 

George let out a bitter laugh. “Well if I can take care of myself, then I don’t need you or anyone. I’ll just leave.”

And with that, he left.

\---

Over the next week, Dream and Sapnap searched everywhere for George, but to no avail. Dream decided not to tell the others of George’s disappearance and simply wrote it off as a “trip to a village nearby”, although they would pick up on it if they didn’t find him soon.

Dream ransacked his brain, thinking of what things he had done wrong that had led to this moment. There were definitely things he had said that were a little insensitive, but he never intended to make George this mad. He had never seen him that upset before. 

This night of searching, Dream and Sapnap found themselves in a desert, the moon rising high in the sky. Mobs littered the ground, the only light nearby coming from a lava pool.

“HELP!” a voice cried out. The two ran to the noise, finding a familiar boy being strangled by a husk.

Sapnap slayed the monster and the two took a step back, eyeing the bruised and cut up George sitting before them. Dark circles lined the underside of his eyes and dried blood stained his blue shirt.

“George!” Sapnap yelled, bringing him into a tight hug. George wordlessly hugged him back, avoiding eye contact with Dream.

After a minute or so of talking, Sapnap pulled away and gave George some distance to speak with Dream.

“George…” Dream whispered, sitting down next to him. “You’re all bloody and it’s all my fault. Maybe if I had just-”

“Dream.” George said. “It’s not…it’s not your fault. I was dumb and left by myself with no protection. I’m sorry.”

Dream’s eyes widened. “George…”

George slowly pushed Dream’s mask off of his face. “Will you forgive me?”

“George, of course I’ll forgive you.”

He painfully smiled and poked Dream’s nose. “I missed your idiot face.”

Dream laughed and ruffled George’s brown hair. “I missed you too.”

Sapnap made his way over to them. “Are y’all good now? Because it’s still nighttime and I don’t wanna die to another monster.”

Dream and George’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“Yes, we’re fine now.” George replied.

“Good. Can we get a group hug?” Sapnap grinned.

“No! We’re not hugging again.” George complained.

“I’ll tell everyone you had a tantrum.” Sapnap retaliated. 

The three hugged, their touch lingering for a minute.

“I love you guys.” Sapnap said. “George, don’t ever leave again.”

George eye-rolled and Dream laughed. “I love you guys too.” Dream said.

“Come on, George you know you wanna say it.” Sapnap teased.

Dream shoved George in the side. “George, just tell me you love me!”

The three bickered on and on until George finally gave in. “Fine, I love you guys too.”

“He said it!!”

“Let’s gooooo!!!”


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is my first time writing a dnf fic and it will definitely take me a while since I want to follow the plot up to present day. I hope you like it and please give me feedback, I’d love to improve it in whatever way I can!

George twiddled the locket in his fingers, opening and closing the latch to reveal the hidden picture. He remembered what Dream had said as he gave it to him the night before.

_“Whenever you get upset, just open it and I’ll be there. I’ll always be there for you, even if I’m not there physically.”_

George’s cheeks burned as he opened the latch to see Dream’s pretty face one more time. There he was, a grin on his face, freckles dusting his pink cheeks and nose, his eyes gleaming and hair ruffled from the wind.

“Oooh, what’s that?” Alyssa asked from behind him. George quickly shoved it into his pocket.

“None of your business.” He quickly walked away, busying himself with something unimportant. Alyssa shrugged, walking away confused.

George’s mind started to drift as he looked through the crafting table for the fifth time in a row. His eyes drooped slightly, his breathing becoming slower. He hadn’t slept very well last night.

George rarely remembered his dreams, but when he did, he always dreamt of the same premise every time. He dreamt of him and Dream, staring up at the stars. His dreams always ended with Dream singing him to sleep, and then he would wake up.

He found this both oddly scary and comforting and he didn’t know why. He would never tell Dream that, of course. The two of them had always been very close, but they always walked the line between friends and more than that, and George worried what would happen if he let go of himself completely.

When he woke up, he was laying on his bed in the empty house. Someone must have moved him there.

George yawned, stretching out his limbs and fixing his shirt that was riding up his stomach.

Outside, Sapnap and Dream were building paths connecting to the house and to other areas nearby.

“You sleep well?” Dream asked as he placed another wooden slab.

“Yeah, I guess so. Who moved me to my bed?”

“Dream did. You were drooling on the crafting table.” Sapnap laughs.

“Yeah it was really gross.” Dream added. George eye-rolled.

“Do you guys need help?” he asked.

“Yeah sure.” Dream replied, handing over some slabs.

George yawned again and continued helping them in the process.

When they finished off the oak paths, George sat along the edge and stared off into the forest, holding the locket in his palm.

It felt calm, different than other days. Calmer than it _should_ be. Like something was off. Maybe it was just that dream again, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

When George looked back at this moment, he wished he would have just ran right then and there.


End file.
